Real Estate Closing Attorneys in Lafayette, LA
Congratulations on finding the perfect home for you and your family! You have invested much time and effort in viewing a variety of properties, choosing the right one and negotiating the best price, whether on your own or with the assistance of a Realtor. Your work with Turnkey Title is just beginning.
At this stage, you have been approved for financing and have just signed a Purchase Agreement. But the process of purchasing your home is only halfway done and you are not quite ready to move in just yet. Either your Realtor, Mortgage Professional or you will send us a copy of this Purchase Agreement and a Request for Title. This is the first step in the process of closing on your home.
Here is a general overview of what typically happens at Turnkey Title, once we receive your file:
PURCHASE AGREEMENT
The Purchase Agreement is a contract between you and your Seller that defines the terms and conditions of your transaction. It was negotiated by you or by your Realtor on your behalf. This contract will provide us with some key information unique to you and the closing of your home. Examples of such key information are:
• Mineral Rights – Whether they will pass to you or be retained by your seller
• Sales Price – What the actual negotiated price of your new home will be
• Closing Date – Tentative date for the actual closing of your home; typically 30-45 days from the date you sign your purchase agreement
• Buyer’s Contingency – Whether your purchase of this home is contingent on you selling your current home; and
• Warranty or “As-Is” – Will your purchase be with full-warranty, partial-warranty, subject to the New Home Warranty Act or “As-Is”.
Your Purchase Agreement will provide contact information for all parties to your transaction. We will call you, your Seller, your Realtor and your Mortgage Professional to confirm this information and to get additional contact information that will facilitate smooth communication between Turnkey Title, and all of you in order to ensure you close on your home as soon as possible.
ABSTRACT OF TITLE AND ITS EXAMINATION
In addition to contact information for all of you, we will be ensuring that we have your full name along with the full name of anyone else that will be acquiring your home with you. This information is important to us because our next step is to order an Abstract of Title for your property where we will examine the public records in the parish where your new home is located to ensure there are no issues that will need to be cleared prior to closing.
Your Abstract of Title will be compiled by an Abstractor. He is familiar with compiling a complete record of the Chain of Title to your new home. The Chain of Title will start with the document by which your Seller acquired your home or the land where your home is currently situated. We will examine this and other documents in your Chain of Title to ensure that your Seller actually owns the home he obligated himself to sell to you in the Purchase Agreement.
Servitudes and Encumbrances
Examining your Chain of Title will reveal any Servitudes and Encumbrances that may affect your new home. Servitudes are rights that other parties have that affect your home. Very few properties do not have at least one Servitude affecting them and they are commonplace. For example, when various utilities providers connect their services to your home, they acquire a Servitude in order to do so. At closing, we will have the opportunity to discuss any Servitudes that affect your new home and may provide you a copy of the last known survey of record of your home which can show where most of them are located.
Examples of Encumbrances would be any mortgages that your Seller has that will need to be paid as part of the closing on your new home. We will collect money from your Seller to pay off any mortgages that he may have, as well as cancel these mortgages in the public records.
Judgments and Liens
Like a mortgage, Judgments and Liens are Encumbrances that will need to be paid and cleared in order for you to obtain Merchantable Title to your new home from your Seller. Should your Seller have a Judgment or Lien against him, and should it be recorded in the public records of the parish where your home is located, it will need to be paid off and cancelled prior to closing on your new home. This process is similar to and no different from paying off and canceling any mortgage that your Seller may have on your new home.
It is important to note that the Abstract of Title will also contain any Judgments or Liens that affect you that are recorded in the parish where your new home is located. Just as with your Seller, these Judgments or Liens will need to be paid off and cancelled prior to closing on your new home.
Due to the manner in which Judgments and Liens are indexed in the public records of the parish in which your new home is located, there may be Judgments or Liens that appear to affect you, but really do not. In the event this is an issue, we will contact you prior to closing to discuss the matter in greater detail.
TITLE INSURANCE
Once our review of your Abstract of Title is complete, we will prepare a Title Insurance Commitment for your new home. If you are financing your purchase of your new home, we will issue the Title Insurance Commitment to your lender. You will be paying for a policy of Lender’s Title Insurance for your lender as part of your closing costs. Should you choose to purchase Owner’s Title Insurance as part of the closing on your new home, you will be acquiring your Owner’s policy at a steep discount due to what is known as the “simultaneous issue” discount. This discount is typically a fraction of the full cost of a policy of Owner’s Title Insurance and is highly recommended. It is important to note that on a Lender’s Title Insurance policy, the insured is the Lender, not you. This is a common misconception. If you would like title insurance coverage, you must purchase your own policy of Owner’s Title Insurance.
REAL ESTATE CLOSING
At this point, our work is almost finished. All that is left is the most important part…closing on your new home! After we send the Title Insurance Commitment to your Mortgage Professional and he gets the go ahead to proceed to Closing, we will contact you, your Realtor, your Seller and his Realtor to notify each of you that we are ready to schedule the Closing at a time convenient for you.
On the date of Closing, you will arrive at our office a few minutes prior to your scheduled Closing time and be met with our friendly staff, who will escort you to one of our Closing rooms. Once your Seller, the Realtors and your Mortgage Professional arrive, we will begin the process of signing all of the documents required for you to complete the purchase of your new home. Closings typically take 30 to 45 minutes from start to finish, but some could take longer. We will do everything in our power to ensure that your Closing experience is as smooth and enjoyable as possible!
POST CLOSING
Once your Closing is complete, Turnkey Title, still has work to do. We will record your deed and mortgage in the public records of the parish where your new home is located. We will also ensure that your Seller’s mortgage is paid off and cancelled. This process can sometimes take months to complete. If you have any questions about any phase of the purchase of your new home, please do not hesitate to contact us and one of our real estate professionals will be glad to speak with you! After all, we are here to serve you as you purchase your new home!